Astra Pretax Profit Rose 6.6% In First Half on 5.5% Sales Jump
April 27, 2011
STOCKHOLM -- Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra AB's pretax profit rose 6.6% to 6.76 billion kronor, largely following stronger sales. The figures came in below analysts' expectations of an average of seven billion kronor, according to a survey by AP-Dow Jones News Service. Astra's sales rose 5.5% to 19.1 billion kronor from 18.1 billion kronor. The firmer Swedish krona hampered Astra's pretax profit by about 600 million kronor after hedging, the company said. Sales of Astra's blockbuster anti-ulcer agent, Losec, rose to 8.55 billion kronor from 7.71 billion kronor, while total world-wide sales rose to 11.8 billion kronor from 10.5 billion kronor, the company said. Astra's total European sales rose 2% to 10.9 billion kronor in the first six months of the year, from 10.7 billion kronor a year ago. At constant exchange rates, sales rose 12%, the company said. Total North American sales rose 18%, or 28% at constant exchange rates, to 4.79 billion kronor from 4.05 billion kronor. Of the total, Astra's share in half-owned Astra Merck Inc., its joint venture with Merck & Co., accounted for 2.82 billion kronor, the company said. Six-month operating profit rose to 6.30 billion kronor from six billion kronor, the company said.
